Apparatus for wall washing or the like



y 1 1966 A. G. PLATT, JR 3,251,087

APPARATUS FOR WALL WASHING OR THE LIKE Filed Feb. 19, 1964 INVENTOR. m a PM%Z.

BY 1/ ,1 4d

7 aw, I f W i I United States Patent 3,251,087 APPARATUS FOR WALL WASHING OR THE LIKE Arthur G. Platt, Jr., 956 N. Laramie Ave., Chicago, 1]]. Filed Feb. 19, 1964, Set.- No. 345,955 1 Claim. (Cl. --98) This invention relates to cleaning devices and more particularly to a new and improved apparatus for cleaning substantially planar surfaces with minor facial irregu-- larities, such as walls or the like.

It is extremely diflicult to thoroughly clean a generally planar surface, such as a wall, where there are minor surface irregularities. There are many types of plaster walls which have obvious surface irregularities (scallops, sand plaster finish). However, most walls which appear smooth actually contain minor surface irregularities. This is especially true of those walls which have been painted with a roller or a brush. An ordinary sweeping or scrubbing motion with a cleaning rag or sponge does not satisfactorily lift the dirt from the several crevices which exist in the irregular surface. Thus, after washing walls with known devices and using common wall washing motions, there is still a dirt residue left within the several surface irregularities.

It is a general object of this invention to provide a new and improved apparatus for washing walls or the like.

It is a primary object of this invention to provide a new and improved vibratory wall washing device in which the sweeping bodily movement of the device in combination with the vibratory movement of a sponge within the body of the device combines to produce a suction which aids in removing soil from the surface being cleaned.

It is another object of this invention to provide a new and improved vibratory wall washing device for-use in cleaning slightly rough walls.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a new and improved hand operable vibratory wall washing de vice wherein three separate motions associated with the device result in an improved wall washing action.

Another object of this invention is to provide a new and improved hand operable vibratory sponge carrying wall washing device wherein as the device is bodily car- .ried along a wall by manual manipulation and the internal drive mechanism imparts oscillation to the sponge within the body, these motions in combination with the rough surface of the wall impart a rebounding movement to the sponge as it progresses slowly along the wall to lift soil from the rough surface of the wall.

Furlther objects and advantages will become apparent from the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a general perspective view of a vibratory wall washer according to this invention in use upon a wall;

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary section view taken along the line 22 of FIGURE 1 and illustrating one means of mounting the scrubbing member to the vibratory device;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary section view similar to FIGURE 2 illustrating another means of mounting the scrubbing member to the vibratory device; and

FIGURE 4 is a perspective diagrammatic illustration of the movements and forces associated with the scrubbing member of this invention.

While this invention is susceptible of embodiment in many different forms, there is shown in the drawings and will herein be described in detail an embodiment of the invention with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered as an exemplification of the principles of the invention and is not intended to limit the invention to the embodiment illustrated. The scope of scrubbing member to the mounting plate.

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shown the wall washing apparatus 10 of this invention.

The apparatus is a vibratory device having a housing 12 for enclosing drive components as well as supporting other functional components of the device, such as a scrubbing member or sponge 14, for use in cleaning a generally planar surface, such as a wall 16. The apparatus is manually operable and is provided with a handle portion 18 having a suitable control switch 1 adapting the device to be carried and operated by hand, as shown in dotted outline at 20. Suitable lead wires 19a lead from the handle.

With particular reference to FIGURE 2, the scrubbing member 14 is mounted to the apparatus 10 through a mounting means 21. Mounting means 21 includes a relatively stiff backing member 22 on the scrubbing member which is intended to facially abut a mounting plate 24 carried by the body or housing 12 on resilient mounting pads 25. Fastening means, such as screws 26, are positioned in openings 27 in the sponge and are threaded through the backing member 22 and mounting plate 24 and are threadably received in the resilient mounting pads 25 for mounting the scrubbing member to the housing 12.

The apparatus is provided with a drive means 30 which is carried within the housing 12 and controlled by switch means 19. The drive means 30 includes a motor 31 which rotates a stub shaft 32 mounted in bearings 34.

The free end of stub shaft 32 has an offset outwardly pro' plate 24 so that this movement is imparted to the mounting plate and thereby to the scrubbing member. A counter-weight 36a is fastened to the shaft 36 as shown in FIG. 2.

It is to be understood that the movement of the mounting plate 24 may follow that of the stub shaft and therefore be properly classified as orbital. It is also understood that through well known mounting arrangements, the movement imparted by the orbital shaft to the mounting plate may be translatory. Either the orbital or translatory movement imparted to the mounting plate will impart to the sponge a relatively high speed, short stroke movement within the plane of the sponge relative to the body of the apparatus, which movement is satisfactory for the purpose of this invention and will be hereinafter broadly defined as vibratory movement.

In FIGURE 3, there is shown a modified form of mounting the scrubbing member to the housing member of the apparatus. A mounting means 21a, shown in FIGURE 3, includes a relatively stiff, preferably spring metallic backing 22a having one end portion turned upon itself away from the scrubbing member to form a generally U-shaped end 22b. The opposite end 22c of the backing member has a rearwardly projecting rib which bears against the face of mounting plate 24a as the scrubbing member is moved over the face of mounting plate 24a in the direction indicated by the arrow A in FIGURE 3. Continued movement of the scrubbing member in the direction of the arrow A permits the rib end 220 of the sponge to snap over the top end (as shown in the drawings) of the mounting member while the U-shaped end 22b of the backing member embraces the lower end of the mounting plate 24a to firmly and securely releaseably fasten the In turn, the mounting plate is mounted on flexible mounting pads-25a similar to those shown in FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 4 illustrates the various motions which are aswall washing action heretofore unknown in the art. As the wall washing apparatus is bodily moved along the plane of the wall 16, as indicated by the arrow B, the drive means 30 vibrates the sponge within the body of the carrier so that the sponge moves relative to the housing as indicated by the arrow C. In combination with this vibration of the sponge relative to the housing and the bodily movement of the entire apparatus along the surface to be scrubbed, the surface irregularities create a third movement or suction action which aids in removing soil from the surface being cleaned. This movement is a bouncing movement or rebounding of the scrubbing member gen erally normal to the surface being cleaned as indicated by the arrow D and is due to the tendency of the sponge to bounce 011 a rough surface. This bouncing movement produces a suction between the sponge and the wall which aids in lifting and removing soil from within the surface irregularities.

The movements associated with the wall Washing apparatus of this invention are distinct from those found in previously known rotary driven abrasive, buffing or cleaning devices. None of these prior devices contemplated the combination of the bodily movement of a scrubbing member across a surface while the scrubbing member vibrated relative to the body, in a plane generally parallel to the surface being cleaned, resulting in the third movement or bouncing action which produces the suction to lift the soil from the irregularities of the surface being cleaned.

The operation of the device of this invention is extremely simple. Suitable cleaning solution may be applied to the scrubbing member 14, such as by dipping the sponge into a vessel containing the cleaning solution, and then the apparatus may be placed in facial engagement with the surface to be cleaned. As the suction lifts the soil from the surface irregularities, the soil is carried to the face of the sponge from where it may be rinsed away and the cycle repeated as necessary to obtain a clean washing action.

I claim:

A wall washing apparatus for wall surfaces, comprising: a manually movable self-powered sponge carrier having a housing with a sponge mounting plate, said mounting plate held in spaced relation to said carrier by resilient elongate posts which are resiliently yieldable in a plane parallel to the plane of the mounting plate; a sponge secured to said mounting plate; drive means in said housing for vibrating said mounting plate to vibrate said sponge in the plane of its mounting and relative to the housing member so that as said housing member. is moved over a surface to be cleaned, the irregularities in the surface being cleaned will, in cooperation with the sponge vibration and movement of the sponge over the surface being cleaned, impart to the sponge member a bouncing movement substantially normal to the wall surface to create a suction action which aids in removing soil from the surface being cleaned; and means for securing the sponge to the mounting plate including a relatively stiff backing member connected to the sponge and in juxtaposition with the mounting plate, threaded fastening means extended through the backing member and mounting plate and threadably received-in the ends of said posts, and openings in said sponge aligned with said posts to provide access to said threaded fastening means for removaland replacement of a sponge.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,700,115 1/1929 Thompson 1597 X 2,193,419 6/1938 George 1528 2,515,403 7/ 1950 Greenleaf et al 15-1 19.1 3,084,364 4/1963 Hutchins 15-97 3,166,773 1/1965 Wyczalek 15-97 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,041,386 10/1958 Germany.

810,343 3/ 1959 Great Britain.

CHARLES VVILLMUTH, Primary Examiner.

WALTER A. SCI-IEEL, Examiner.

LEON G. MACHLIN, Assistant Examiner. 

